HPCL shares get an upgrade from JPMorgan; price targets raised for BPCL and IOC as well

Shares of state-run Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) — Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL), and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOC) — were trading with gains of as much as 2% on Wednesday, May 14.

Global brokerage firm JPMorgan has upgraded shares of HPCL to 'Overweight' from its earlier rating of 'Neutral'. The brokerage has also raised its price target to ₹463 from ₹424 earlier.

JPMorgan has an 'Overweight' recommendation on BPCL. The brokerage has raised its price target to ₹481 from ₹417 earlier.

Similarly, for IOC, the foreign brokerage has an 'Overweight' rating, and has upped its price target to ₹199 from ₹182 earlier.

How good is $60/bbl oil for OCMs?

If things stay as they are, JPMorgan expects IOCL, BPCL, and HPCL to beat FY26 EBITDA forecasts by 50–80% in the first half alone.

The companies will have to book large inventory losses in the first quarter, but margins are so strong now that EBITDA will likely still be up sequentially for HPCL and BPCL, the brokerage wrote in its note.

IOC shares are trading 0.90% higher at ₹142.97, those of BPCL are trading 1.09% higher at ₹310.25, while those of HPCL are trading 1.41% higher at ₹394.40.

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